Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

Shila-

The sound of oil sizzling in the kitchen, mixed with the aroma of garlic and soy sauce bursting forth under the high heat.

Black Tower, Silver Wolf, and Qi Lin were currently resting on the sofa in the living room.

Even though it had shrunk, Black Tower still maintained its dignified and elegant appearance, leaning against the armrest of the sofa, flipping through a hardcover book that it had taken from some bookshelf.

Silver Wolf sat cross-legged in the center of the living room, playing games in front of the huge-screen TV.

Qi Lin sat at the very edge of the sofa, her Glock 17 resting on her lap, her fingers unconsciously stroking the gun handle.

As for why Lu Ze wouldn't let them into the kitchen...

Oh……

These three are all veritable kitchen killers.

The Black Tower goes without saying.

None of the female engineering students know how to cook properly. If you ask them to cook instant noodles, they'll add all sorts of weird things to it.

Lu Ze was really afraid that she would suddenly have the idea to pour some T-virus into the pot while she was cooking, to see what interesting effects the real immortal would have after eating it.

Curiosity is the most important trait of geniuses, but for the kitchen, what is needed more is to follow the rules.

Just follow the recipe exactly, don't try any fancy creative ideas.

After all, the great water goddess, Lady Funina, once said—

"Simply put, I hate most 'creative cuisine.' Over the years, I've tasted many outlandish dishes that have served no purpose other than leaving me with psychological trauma."

Even the Water God said so!

As for Silver Wolf, she does know how to do some of that. After all, she also climbed up from the bottom when she was young, so being self-reliant is no problem for her.

But she's just lazy.

Qi Lin, on the other hand, was the kind of good student who was spoiled by her parents. She was a tool for studying and had hardly ever even touched a kitchen knife.

That's just how the world is these days; it's forced Lu Ze, a grown man, into a stay-at-home dad.

He suddenly missed Bella a little.

But despite missing it, I didn't stop working.

After chopping vegetables, blanching them, stir-frying them, and seasoning them, I finally managed to prepare a meal for everyone.

When Lu Ze placed the last dish on the small table in front of the three girls, Silver Wolf took a bite first, then looked up and mumbled something to him.

"Found the entrance to the hive." She gestured with her chin toward the fireplace. "It's behind there."

Lu Ze took off his apron and draped it over the back of the chair, then walked over to the fireplace and examined it carefully.

He discovered a mechanism on a brick inside the fireplace; with a gentle press, a low hum of gears turning came from inside the wall.

The fireplace, along with the entire wall behind it, slowly slid open to both sides, revealing a metal staircase extending downwards.

White emergency lights illuminated one after another on the stairwell wall, and the air was filled with the faint hum of the filtration system, like the snoring of some long-dormant beast.

"Let's eat first, then we'll talk."

Lu Ze turned off the switch, returned to the sofa, and picked up his bowl and chopsticks.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was briefly quiet, with only the crisp sound of bowls and chopsticks clattering together.

Silver Wolf put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and then leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh.

"I'm stuffed. Little Lu, your cooking skills are almost on par with Uncle Ren's."

She patted her fair, jade-like belly, her tone filled with satisfaction.

Lu Ze stacked the empty bowls and plates together, then suddenly asked, "We need to arrange a night watch tonight. How do we set the time?"

The atmosphere in the living room tensed slightly.

Silver Wolf sprang up from the sofa and grabbed Qi Lin's arm.

"The two of us will keep watch for the first half of the night."

"I have no objection." Black Tower turned a page of his book, not even looking up, and said indifferently.

In the past, it was common for her to stay up for several days and nights in a row when doing research, so keeping watch at night was no problem for her.

Since Black Tower had spoken, Lu Ze naturally had no objections and nodded.

"That works too. I'll keep watch with Black Tower for the rest of the night. I can even make breakfast when it gets light."

After he finished speaking, he took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them. The night outside the window had completely fallen, and occasionally the calls of unknown birds could be heard from the woods.

The lights on in this Western-style mansion, hidden deep in the forest, are probably the only source of light for miles around.